Mama's Boy
by ItsOnMars
Summary: Seamus had always been, and always would be, a mama's boy.  Written for the "Minor Character" challenge.


**OOO**

Seamus Finnigan had always been, and always would be, a mama's boy. It made sense when he thought about it, and it was quite easy to see why it was true. After all, his mother had been the one to secretly bring him sweets when his father sent him to his room. His mother had been the one who sent him letters daily in his second year, sensing the unwritten worry when he spoke of the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. More importantly, his mother had been the magical one out of his parents. His father was a wonderful man, and Seamus was grateful for everything the man gave him, but there was one thing that his father could not give him, and that was the wonderful, exhilarating and exciting thing that was magic.

Years before his first trip to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Seamus had attended a muggle elementary school. His father had insisted that he go, demanding that there was no sense in skipping out on learning the multiplication table and proper grammar. Seamus had whined, complained until his mother had hesitantly asked her husband if this muggle school was really necessary. He had preached about its importance for ten minutes, and that was that.

With elementary school came friends, and with friends came play dates. Seamus's best friend Brian had come over once shortly after Seamus's ninth birthday, and the two had gone to his house. The day was filled with fun, but the day after was not. Seamus had entered his classroom, only to hear Brian announce to the rest of the class: "Seamus's mom was so weird! She kept a stick in her pocket, and kept kissing the top of Seamus's head and hugging him! He's such a mama's boy!" Seamus had promptly gone up to Brian and tackled him behind, getting into his first fight. It all resulted in Brian getting a black eye and in Seamus getting a large bruise on his face, which his mother tended to while his father scolded him. The only thing that his mother had said had been "I always knew that Brian boy was a horrible boy". Seamus had eagerly listened to her, adding his own insults when she stopped talking.

Seamus's first year at Hogwarts was marked by his budding friendship with Dean Thomas. On the first night, Seamus had eagerly penned a letter to his mother, describing the sorting and his new housemates, focusing on Dean and Lavender, also adding in some lines about that famous boy Harry Potter, and how he was so different than Seamus had expected. The next morning, he had received a reply as well as a box of sweets. Seamus had distributed the sweets among the Gryffindors, and kept the letter to himself, rereading it as many times as he could. His mother seemed to approve of Dean, saying that he seemed like a nice boy. Strangely enough, though, she had told Seamus to keep a distance from Lavender and the other girls. They were, she said, only after one thing, and that was corrupting her darling little boy. Seamus had scoffed at that, knowing full well that Lavender was content with staring at Oliver Wood and Cedric Diggory, and had no intentions of corrupting his mother's "darling little boy".

With second year came terror. Muggleborns were being petrified, and Seamus knew it was only a matter time before the half bloods started getting rounded up too. His mother sent comforting letters, sensing his fear even though he never wrote his concerned thoughts down directly. He was grateful for those letters, and made sure to reread them whenever another student was admitted into the Hospital Wing, their faces frozen in terror.

Third year came and went quite quickly, but fourth year was a long one. Lavender had asked Diggory to the Yule Ball, only to be kindly turned down. She had come crying to him, and in an act of desperation she asked him to the ball. He had awkwardly agreed, then rushed to send a letter to his mother once Lavender left to her room, slightly cheered up. He told his mother that he had a date to the ball, and did she remember Lavender Brown from his previous letters? She replied immediately the next morning, congratulating him on finding a date. She then got very serious, telling him to be a gentleman at the ball and then to stay away from the girl. Seamus had sent her a reply, indignantly writing that Lavender was a nice girl, and that he would do no such thing. His mother had not replied, and Seamus had gone to the ball with a feeling of guilt gnawing away in his stomach. That had been the first time he defied his mother, and he wasn't so sure if he liked it. Seamus quickly swallowed down the feelings, though, and continued to talk to Lavender after the ball.

Fifth year was quite a disaster. The summer prior, Seamus's mother had told him exactly what she thought about that Harry Potter, and Seamus had nodded his head eagerly. It wasn't that he disliked Harry; it was just that he still felt guilty for disobeying his mother the year before, and now that she was adamant in her commands, who was he to argue? A few weeks into the school year, though, and Seamus started to doubt his mother's words. Harry was nice enough, and his mother's claims didn't quite fit with his own observations. Besides, Dean had lectured Seamus for his treatment of Harry, saying that the boy didn't deserve that treatment. After a long and restless night of reflection, Seamus decided to apologize to Harry, thus earning back his friends and sparking a return of that terrible, gnawing feeling of guilt that came every time his mother sent him a letter.

The war was horrible, brutal, and everything that Seamus knew it would be. His mother had fought, surprisingly enough. When Seamus asked her why, she had told him that she would do anything to protect her darling little boy. When she asked him why he fought, he had heard himself saying that he would do anything to protect his mother. But it wasn't true, not really. Seamus wasn't just fighting for his mother. He was fighting for Dean, for Lavender, for Harry, and most importantly he was fighting because he knew the cause was right. He didn't need his mother to tell him what was right, what was good, because this time Seamus knew. He knew that, in the end, only one side would win. And Seamus would be damned if he let the Death Eaters win.

It's at times like this when Seamus realizes what it means to be a mama's boy. It's when he looks back at his childhood that he realizes that he wasn't really anything _but_ a mama's boy. His thoughts and opinions were never his own, just echoes of what he had been told in a letter sent from home the night before. But there were only two times when Seamus Finnegan defied his mother, and he wouldn't change that, even if he could. Sticking on Harry's side had been a wonderful decision, if only because it resulted in Seamus being alive, in him not being killed by his classmates when the war finally came. The scars were a small price to pay for his life, as was all the fighting, all the fear, and all the guilt. And he hadn't really betrayed so badly his mother at those times, not really. She wanted him to survive, and that was what Seamus had done. He had survived, and he is happy now, he really is. He's happy as he lays down the flowers down on his mother's grave, because he knows that she has forgiven him for his betrayals, because she could never stay mad at him for too long. So instead of crying or mourning, Seamus straightens up and heads towards the entrance to the cemetery where Lavender and their three-year-old son Aiden are waiting. A sense of peace fills Seamus as he smiles at Aiden. The boy is clinging to Lavender, as usual, looking up at her with adoration clearly written in his eyes. He really is such a mama's boy sometimes, Seamus thinks. Like father, like son, he supposes.

**OOO**

**So… I'm not too fond of this one, but thanks for reading it anyway! As said in the summary, this was written for the "Minor Character" challenge, and this was also my first time writing for Seamus. I hope you enjoyed the story, but even if you didn't, please take the time to write me a review. They cheer me up, but more importantly, they improve my writing.**

**Again, thanks for reading!**

**Sincerely,**

_**ItsOnMars **_**:)**


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